1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally related to wheelbarrows and is specifically directed to a wheelbarrow for transporting rocks and stones.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wheelbarrows are well known. However, the wheelbarrows of the prior art are generally designed for general purpose use such as, by way of example, the wheelbarrow disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 868,462 issued to L. Lorenzi on Oct. 15, 1907. There have also been a number of wheelbarrows designed for specific use such as the wheelbarrow of U.S. Pat. No. 642,569 issued to G. Baklund on Feb. 6, 1900. The Baklund wheelbarrow is specifically designed to carry milk cans and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,479,223 issued to G. Carroll on Jan. 1, 1924 also discloses a wheelbarrow specifically designed for carrying cans but adaptable for general purpose use as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 845,207 issued to C. Tripp on Feb. 26, 1907 discloses a wheelbarrow adapted for carrying unusually large and heavy objects wherein the object such as a barrel is self-leveling and the wheelbarrow has an enlarged wheel to provide better stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,754,835 issued to H. B. Newton on Apr. 15, 1930 also discloses a large wheeled wheelbarrow for better distribution of weight when hauling heavy objects.
It is also known to provide dumping wheel barrows as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,544,769 issued to G. Nalder on Jul. 7, 1925; 2,234,879 issued to H. Shoesmith on Mar. 11, 1941; 2,852,304 issued to L. E. Harrison on Sep. 16, 1958; and 3,092,418 issued to J. Themascus on Jun. 4, 1963. One of the problems with each of the dumping wheelbarrows of the prior art is the weight is generally distributed above and in substantial vertical alignment with the axis of the wheel, making the wheelbarrow unstable when carrying heavy loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,232,387 issued to I. Parker on Jul. 3, 1917 discloses a self-leveling wheelbarrow having a pivotable bucket. However, there is not sufficient clearance between the wheelbarrow and the wheel or other frame members to provide for dumping.
None of the wheelbarrows of the prior art are specifically directed to a transportation device for picking and hauling small stones and rocks from fields which are to be tilled for growing crops. In many regions of the country such as, by way of example, northern New England and Wisconsin and other areas where prehistoric glacier movements deposited large amounts of rubble just beneath the surface and the top soil, small rocks and stones surface with each spring thaw. This provides a continuing problem when preparing fields for planting at the beginning of each growing season. Typically, the rocks and stones must be physically and manually removed from the field before tilling in order to minimize damage to plow shares and the like. Even with the development of modern mechanized equipment for preparing fields, rock and stone removal still remains a substantially manual operation. Often this is accomplished by manually taking a wheelbarrow and a rock fork to the field and physically placing the rocks and stones in the wheelbarrow for transportation to a dump site. However, heretofore there have been no wheelbarrows specifically designed for this purpose. The wheelbarrows are either unstable under heavy load, difficult to manipulate, or are not well designed for the heavy loads and weight distribution generated during the rock picking activity. This requires that the wheelbarrow be used to carry lighter loads, increasing the number of trips and the amount of labor and time required to complete the task.